Friday, May 29, 2009

Would you read this book?

Yet another shot at a 'pitch' for my current novel in progress, "The Between," a YA urban fantasy. I find coming up with a succinct summary of a novel one of the most challenging things to write. What I wasn't able to capture in this version is the very large role a Fey named Clive Barrow has in this story. He is the 2nd POV character, along with Lydia. The summary is still very much a work in progress.

Lydia Hawthorne, raised as a changeling child in the Mortal world, is dragged from her adopted life into the decades-long struggle between the Fairy courts. Locked in a desperate bid for long term survival, Oberon and Titania force the Fey to the brink of war in their battle to control Lydia's latent power. Lydia must harness Fey magic to survive even as she stubbornly clings to her 'humanity'. But the Fey get far more than they bargain for when she fuels her Fey abilities with the very human power of love and loss, challenging the nature of Fairy itself.

Raised as a changeling child in the Mortal world, Lydia Hawthorne, a trueborn Fey, is dragged from her adopted life into the ongoing struggle between Oberon and Titania, rulers of the Bright and Shadow Fairy courts.

Clive Barrow, a Bright court Fey with embarassing ties to the Mortal world, risks Oberon's fury when inconvenient sympathies leave him oathsworn to help Lydia.

Oberon and Titania are battling for more than political power: without access to Mortal fertility, the Fey cannot produce enough children to survive. Lydia's magic, added to either of the warring courts, will tip the balance between them, allowing one court to thrive and dooming the other to extinction.

But the Fey get far more than they bargain for when Lydia fuels her growing Fey abilities with the very human power of love and loss, challenging the nature of Fairy itself.

okay, back from the family birthday party and here we go. Please realize that I haven't read the story and you know what I got right and what I got wrong.

Take what works and toss the rest:

Lydia Hawthorne isn't who she thinks she is. Raised a mortal, she's not too happy when the Fey world drags her into their politics and problems, claiming that she's one of them. But Oberon and Titania are battling for more than political power: The Fey can't produce enough children to survive without the help of Mortals.

Lydia is a trueborn Fey and the power of her magic will tip the balance between the warring courts. The court she adds that power to will thrive; the other will slowly die. But that's their game and she doesn't want to play by their rules.

In addition to her growing Fey abilities, she has the (reluctant) allegiance of Clive, a member of the bright court and the very human power of love and loss. The Fey get more than they bargained for as she challenges the very nature of Fairy itself.

You can read samples of my novels (some in progress, some published) on Wattpad.

I've also been known to make pottery and give it away. :)

FYI: I have political biases. I am concerned with social justice, gender issues, and feminism. I will talk about this side by side with writing craft, pottery, and cute animal pictures.

P.S. Sadly, I know that the individuals this relates to are not the people reading this, so consider this my public venting. Most of the folks I have met on G+ have been interesting and wonderful; people I now count as my friends. However, I have increasingly been the recipient of private messages and emails from men, often not native English speakers, but not exclusively so, wanting to 'get to know me better'. These "hey baby" messages are from people who have never interacted with me, aren't in my circles, and have no connection with me or my interests. This is the internet version of the street cat-call and is at best, irritating, at worse, harassment. So I will not answer chat requests from anyone I do not recognize from my circles or from prior interactions on G+ posts.